Chapter 74: Magical Shopping ①
As I was looking at my magical card, my childhood friends peeked over my shoulder.
“Whoa, you got 20,000 points!” Shi-chan exclaimed.
“So there were no negative achievements…” Otama-chan murmured.
“Ho, there’s a rare bonus too, it seems…” Hermit-sama observed.
“Everyone knows so much…” I muttered.
As expected from the most popular area for dungeon streams.
“Is this a good result?” I asked.
“It’s amazing! I’m so hyped! I can’t wait to shop!” Otama-chan cheered.
“Mhm, most Explorers only manage to get between 7,000 and 10,000 points. 20,000 can be said to be quite a high score,” Hermit-sama explained.
“The conditions for the bonuses you can get from Danpen haven’t been fully figured out yet. There are hardly any parties that get this many,” Shi-chan added.
“Is that so…”
According to everyone, there were also achievements like these:
・Prolonged Battle Duration (Danpen got tired)… -1500
・Overuse of Healing Magic… -500
・Party Member Downed… -1000
・20 Combo Achieved… 2000
・Max Damage was a Repdigit… 3333
・Regular Customer (Fought Danpen 5+ times)… 3000
“Hey, hey, more importantly, let’s go inside the store already! I’m too excited, I can’t stand it!!” Otama-chan urged.
“…Honestly, Otama-chan,” Shi-chan sighed.
Then, Hermit-sama said with a serious face, “Natsume, let me ask beforehand. Is it alright if we aim to spend about 5,000 points per person?”
“Sounds fine, doesn’t it? I mean, are there any other options?”
“Yeah, there are parties that pool their points to buy one big thing, you know? But…” Shi-chan trailed off.
“So exciting!” Otama-chan bounced.
“…Not after seeing Otama-chan’s face like that. Besides, Shi-chan and Hermit-sama, you’re looking forward to shopping too, right?”
“…I guess it’s obvious, huh?” Shi-chan admitted.
“…I cannot deny that inquiry,” Hermit-sama conceded.
“Well, that’s what we came here for, after all,” I said.
There was only one answer.
“Alright then, 5,000 points per person for shopping! Let’s go to Dungeon Hote!”
“Yay!”
☆★☆
Upon entering Dungeon Hote, we saw various products displayed all the way up to the high ceiling.
Quite an assortment of goods.
Music that sounded vaguely familiar was playing inside the store.
“Dun, dun, dun, Dungeon~♪ Dungeon Hote~♫
Treasures galore, a magical jungle~♪ (It’s a jungle!)”
“Hmph, so this is Dungeon Hote’s theme, ‘Magical Shopping,’ eh… If I transcribed the lyrics and posted them on my blog, I could probably rake in some PV,” Hermit-sama mused.
“This song has a title…?” I wondered.
And, as the lyrics suggested…
“Yeah, this really is more like a jungle than a dungeon, perhaps…”
The poor visibility constantly guided my gaze to the shelves right in front of me.
It felt like stepping into a dense forest.
There were many handwritten signs (POPs) written in a unique font on the shelves.
“Fear Ice-attribute no more! Anti-Cold Jacket 2500P”
“Outstanding Storage Capacity! Hyperspace Item Storage Bag (Max Capacity 200 Liters) 8000P”
“…I see.”
So they weren’t selling just ordinary clothes, but items usable inside dungeons.
“No effect, but it’s cute! Danpen Plush Pouch 2000P”
“Shocking Deal! Clearance Sale! Shield-Backpack Combo 500P”
“No wonder shopping here gets you excited.”
My eyes darted from one new product to another.
“Oh, this is…!”
“Emits red particle effects when moving! Sparkle Mantle 5000P *No special effects.”
“That looks cool…!”
It’s completely useless, but I want it.
I’ll keep it in mind.
“Whoa! So cute!”
Looking behind me, I saw my childhood friends also browsing the shelves, their eyes wide.
“This compressed shelving would surprise even the original store…” Shi-chan commented.
“There’s all sorts of stuff over here too! It’s fun just looking around!” Otama-chan exclaimed.
As we were looking around the store like that, Otama-chan said, “What’s this place? There’s a black noren!”
“Ah, Tama-chan, wait! I’ll go too!” Shi-chan followed.
“Hmph, then I shall also…” Hermit-sama joined them.
The three of them went into a corner sectioned off by a black noren.
“This atmosphere feels familiar somehow…”
I tried to follow them inside.
However.
Fwump!
Otama-chan burst out from behind the noren with surprising force.
The other two followed her.
Otama-chan’s and Shi-chan’s faces seemed flushed.
“What’s wrong? I want to take a look inside too…”
“No, absolutely not!” Otama-chan declared.
“Why not?”
“What’s not okay is not okay! Ko-chan doesn’t need it! …Besides, if you used something like that, I feel like I’d break…”
“…And for the items on the other shelf, I’m afraid Natsume-kun wouldn’t be satisfied with ordinary things anymore…” Shi-chan added, her voice trailing off.
“Huh? Break? Not satisfied? What do you mean?”
“W-Well, that’s…”
Then, Hermit-sama said, “…Beyond this point is a place for defective goods. There are only broken or unsatisfactory products. Therefore, it is not worth seeing.”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right, Ko-chan!”
“It’s probably a place for store staff, hahaha…”
“I see…”
Then, maybe there’s no need to go.
But, my curiosity was piqued.
“I’d like to take a quick look, just for a bit.”
“I-Inside there is…”
“…Natsume, I have created a Bottomless Poison Marsh (Curse Swamp) here with my 【Dark Magic】, so you cannot enter. Be careful,” Hermit-sama stated.
“Was all that really necessary!?”
Now I couldn’t get in until Hermit-sama dispelled the magic.
Honestly…
I just wanted a little peek.
“H-Hey, Ko-chan, let’s look somewhere else. They have snacks and home appliances too, you know?” Otama-chan suggested.
“Unlike the original, there’s also a weapons corner… Sounds fun, right?” Shi-chan added.
“H-Hey…”
They grabbed my arms and escorted me to another section.
It felt less like “a flower in each hand” and more like I was a prisoner.
The place we ended up at was a corner with perfumes.
“Oh, Ko-chan! They have perfume testers, why don’t you try some?” Otama-chan suggested.
“I don’t really use perfume, though…”
“It’s fine! Here, here, just a spritz!”
“H-Hey…”
Otama-chan sprayed perfume on my wrist.
“Honestly…”
I brought my wrist to my nose.
How should I put it? It had an exotic scent.
I didn’t dislike it, but it felt like it might give me a headache if I smelled it for too long.
“Huh… It smells really good. Ko-chan, let me borrow your hand for a sec.”
“Wh-Whoa, Otama-chan…”
“Sniff, sniff…”
Otama-chan took my hand and started smelling it.
“That’s enough, right…”
“Sniff… Haaah… Smells so good…”
“H-Hey…!”
“Sniff, sniff… Haaaaah…”
“Hey, Natsume-kun, it says this is Monster Pheromone Perfume. It seems to have the effect of attracting monsters. Wait… Tama-chan, what’s wrong?” Shi-chan asked.
“Well, she’s saying this perfume smells really good or something…”
“Eh…!? N-Natsume-kun, what color perfume did you put on!?”
“The one Otama-chan brought over was that pinkish one over there, but…”
“Th-That one! That’s Pheromone Perfume for humans! It has an aphrodisiac effect for only three minutes…!”
“Eh…?”
I looked at Otama-chan, and her eyes were glazed over.
Mgyu!
Otama-chan wrapped her arm around mine and pressed her body against me.
“Wh-Whoa…!”
I started feeling kind of strange too.
My head felt fuzzy.
“Hey, Ko-chan… Let’s go to that place with the noren, okay?”
“The noren? Isn’t that the defective goods area?”
“No, it’s not. You know what it is, don’t you~?”
“No, I seriously don’t know. Besides, isn’t Hermit-sama’s poison swamp there?”
“A little swamp like that is nothing! We can manage it with a combo of my 【Water User】 and Ko-chan’s 【Water Walking】!”
“I guess you’re right. Then let’s go.”
“Yeah, then, carry me, okay? Let’s go look at the naughty goods together…”
Just then, Shi-chan came in front of us, holding out a blue perfume…
“N-No! Naughty stuff is not okay!!”
Spritz, spritz!
She sprayed it around us.
Huh…?
Looking at the POP for the same product, it said:
“Instant Sage Time. Sage’s Perfume 800P”
“Huh, what was I doing…?” I wondered.
“K-Ko-chan, I’m sorry. For clinging to you like that…” Otama-chan apologized.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Well, there isn’t much I really want, but since we’re here, shall we take a walk?”
“Yeah. Let’s try not to waste our points,” Shi-chan agreed.
──Until three minutes passed, our desire for material things also didn’t recover.
＝＝＝＝＝＝
The original song is:
“MIRACLE SHOPPING ~Don Quijote’s Theme~” by Maimi Tanaka!